Brush sophomore Nayeli Vasquez putts on the green on hole one at The Course at Petteys Park during a preseason practice on Wednesday, March 7, 2018. (Brandon Boles / Fort Morgan Times)

May 7: @ Regionals (TBD)

May 14: League Golf Tournament (Brush) 10 a.m.

May 21-22: @ State (Elmwood Golf Course, Pueblo)

Though preseason practices began last week, members of the Brush girls golf team came out and got their work in much earlier, according to first-year head coach Shawn Stutzman.

"A lot of the girls came out in the summer to our summer clinics we put on," Stutzman said. "I've worked with them before. They are willing and able to be out here as much as they can. That's always a good sign."

The amount of work the girls put in during the summer, coupled with Stutzman getting comfortable as a high school golf course after working with the boys team in the fall, has him excited about the upcoming spring season.

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"I think all of the girls can play really well for us," Stutzman said. "We should have some good numbers by the end of the year."

Brush will have around nine golfers going out for the team and will give the team a chance to compete in varsity or JV tournaments. The team had a long preseason of practices and did not start until Tuesday with their tournament at Highlands Ranch.

Returning to lead the team is state qualifier Alayna Kreegar. After a slow start last season, Kreegar's game picked up and she became the team leader. She would win the league tournament Brush hosted and then punched her ticket to state with a top-20 finish at regionals. Behind her is a good core group of sophomores and juniors that return with more experience to help solidify a few varsity spots in the lineup.

The time off from the first tournament and the weather cooperating has helped the team so far this season, according to Stutzman.

"It helps to get a couple weeks under their belts first," Stutzman said. "It's tough to come right out of winter, where you haven't played at all, and get started. We will have two full weeks of practice before we get going, and that's huge."

The first tournament they played in, hosted by Valor Christian High School, may be the biggest one during the regular season. Many of the top teams in the higher classifications will participate in the event, giving Brush some of its best competition right away.

After the Valor Christian tournament, the schedule will see Brush play in Morgan County in back-to-back tournaments. The Beetdiggers will head to Fort Morgan for the Dale Douglass Invitational on March 23 and then host their home tournament on March 26. At the end of the regular season, Brush will get to host the league tournament once again on May 14.

This preseason, the team has split time between playing holes out on the golf course and working on different parts of their game at the driving range and putting green. The short game is the one area Stutzman is putting the most emphasis on for his team to work on so far.

"The short game is going to be everything for them," Stutzman said. "If they can get their putting and chipping down, that's only going to help them. That's where the majority of the scoring comes from. You can hit it a mile, but if you can't get it in the hole in two tries, you're hurting yourself in the long run."

In the early preseason, windy days forced the team to spend extra time on their short game, something Stutzman said he wanted his team to do in the preseason.

Confidence is riding high in the early season for Stutzman, who said he has been impressed so far in the preseason with what the team has shown and hopes to see it translate in their tournaments that get underway this week.

"I can see us going into the regional tournament with a good chance at qualifying for state," Stutzman said. "From what I've seen over the summer, I think we have a good core group and a young group that could make some improvement. We'll be really consistent as a team."

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